Everyone is watching Game of Thrones... even in China.
Every episode of the mega-hit HBO show is eagerly consumed by viewers in the country, who either watch the official Chinese stream on Tencent Video or from some, let's say, "unofficial" sources.
And just like viewers everywhere else, when they're done, they flood social media with their commentary -- sometimes with a local twist.
Here are some of our favorite memes from Season 8 so far. But before you go further, a warning: There are spoilers in this post, so don't scroll past the picture if you don't want to know what happens this season.
"The night is dark, and full of spoilers." (Picture: HBO)
OK, remember that big battle at Winterfell? (They called it The Long Night, but let's be real, it was more of a One Night Stand, am I right? Thanks, I'm here all week.)
Most people were a little confused by the battle plan from the good guys, which is to say it didn't make any damn sense. Chinese viewers thought they could have taken some inspiration from Sun Tzu: The legendary Chinese general and philosopher who wrote The Art of War, the book too often misquoted by that really annoying guy in your office.
One commenter put it bluntly: “They should read Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Their strategies suck.”
On the flipside, Lord Varys is extremely popular among Chinese netizens. The master of whispers has made no secret that his loyalty lies with the people of the realm, not Daenerys.
Unfortunately, Daenerys is his queen, so that's kinda treason, and he was executed for it.
But Varys choosing to put the good of the people over his own life won him plenty of fans in China, who jokingly call him a "true communist" and a "revolutionary martyr."
Varys, jokingly hailed as a "true communist" by Chinese viewers, seen here considering some Bluth-style light treason. (Picture: HBO)
Sometimes the memes get pretty deep. Take the political situation in the North, for instance.
They fought for ages to regain their independence. Sansa's hard work helps the Starks win Winterfell back, and Jon is proclaimed King in the North... and then he goes south and bends the knee to his lover aunt Daenerys, giving up their independence all over again.
That's the concept that allows Hong Kong to be a part of China, while still retaining a degree of autonomy from the mainland. So why not apply that to Westeros?
"There is only one Westeros, and the North is an inseparable part of it," says one commenter, who compares the situation to, uh, China and Taiwan.
It's funny that Chinese viewers are so interested in Game of Thrones, given how heavily censored it is.
It should come as no surprise that Chinese authorities aren't a big fan of violence or nudity, which is a bit of a problem for Game of Thrones given that it's a fairly large part of the show. (Actor Ian McShane once dismissed the show as "just tits and dragons," which is both grossly unfair and kinda accurate at the same time.)
Ian McShane as Brother Ray on Game of Thrones, presumably staring at either tits or dragons. (Picture: HBO)
A full five minutes were cut out of the opening episode this season, including a whole scene -- where the late little Lord Umber reanimates as a zombie to freak everyone out. Viewers are unsurprisingly furious about the cuts, complaining that some episodes feel unsatisfying or don't make sense without the missing scenes.
The very next week came the episode where Arya and Gendry have sex. Suddenly, Chinese viewers took to social media with a very different opinion: They wished that scene was censored.
